[apci driver]

This is the first time I've posted anything online so please forgive my ignorance if I do something wrong. Here's my problem. I have a 2005 T-100 Bonneville. I rode it to work one day and the tachometer quit. I rode home and other than the tach not working the bike ran fine. When I tried to start it a few weeks later it wouldn't. It turned over fine so I pulled a plug, grounded it to the head and saw it had no spark. I didn't have time to look at it for a few months (I work a lot of hours). When I got back to it I checked the spark again and it was fine. It started and I rode it about 10 miles. It ran fine for a while then died. It started after about half a minute and I rode it home. I have started it several times and it runs for a short time then dies. Sometimes it backfires. Sometimes it runs rough. The tach sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. I think there is something in common with the tach and the ignition. Does the ignitor send the signal to the tach? I've had Harleys run like this and after replacing the ignition modules they ran fine. I suspect the ignitor. My dealer told me they have no way of checking for a bad ignitor, they have to eliminate everything else first (for about $75 an hour). It would be nice if I could just plug a new one in and I'd know right away but for $500 I better check everything I can first. Any help on what to check would be very welcome. Thanks

 

[damo1]

Cdi ?

My tacho stopped working, bike ran fine though, got cdi unit replaced under warranty, no worries

 

[Aussie_T100]

I'm no auto electrician so all I can suggest is what I would do myself if I found myself in your situation. I'd try and cover the basics first, remove the seat and disconnect the battery then check all push together electrical connections by separating them checking & cleaning if necessary and fitting firmly back together. The first one I'd do would be the connector to the ignitor itself which is right under the seat. Probably be a big help if you had access to a manual even if just to help in identifying components.

Then I'd check all fuses by removing, checking to see if they were blown and refitting firmly. Then I'd look for wires that may have been worn through and thus shorting out. Under the fuel tank is a likely place for this to happen so you would have to remove that. I would probably remove the seat, side covers and tank to make access to everything easier.

Another possibilty is a faulty side stand switch but you would probably need a multimeter to check that unless you just bypassed it for a test. Another possibility, although I'm not sure how you could test it, is a faulty kill switch. By this time I would be running out of ideas unless I had access to another ignitor to test with so I would put everything back together, paying particular attention to the battery terminals, and test to see if the symptoms persisted.

The only other possibilty that I can think of is the crank position sensor but all the user can do with this is check the clearance adjustment anyway. You would be best to have a manual if you were going to check this sensor and a replacement alternator cover gasket would be required.

Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable than I am will chime in with some better targeted suggestions.

 

[wenzel850]

Driver,

I too had problems with my tach just stopping. No such problem with the bike running. I also have an 05 T-100.

So I removed the seat and found my battery connections very loose. So I tighten them and low and behold, the tach works.

Long story short, check your battery connections.

Also is your fuel fresh or has the same fuel been in your tank the whole time ?

Old fuel can cause these bikes not to start. Gas now a days goes bad very quickly.

 

[apci driver]

Thanks for the replys. I definately have an electrical problem. No spark. Fuses OK. Battery connections OK. Still need to check all the wiring. I ordered a shop manual and a new coil. I couldn't get a resistance reading on mine. We'll see what happens when I try it. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks again.

 

[apci driver]

2005 bonneville ignition problems

It took a while but I finaaly got my Bonneville fixed. I put a new coil on it, fired it up, ran it about 2 miles and pushed it home. No spark. Ordered a new module from Bike Bandit. $507 US dollars. Got it in about two weeks, put it on and the bikes been running fine for the last 400 miles. Hopefully this module will last longer than 4300 miles. Thanks to those who replied. If anyone has the same symptoms as I did try to find someone with the same bike. It would take all of five minutes to plug a new one in and see if that's your problem.

 

[Sheepdog]

Wow, I'm glad you got your bike running, but that was a hefty pricetag for the fix. Sorry you had a problem. Early on in the life of Bonnies, some owners complained about faulty coils failing after about 10K miles. As a precaution, I replaced mine with Nology coils a while back. There is not a noticeable increase in performance, but the aftermarket units have a reputation for long life. Also, running a bike with a battery that is having trouble holding a charge can sometimes cause voltage surges which play hell with your electrical system's components. Use of an affordable LED voltmeter and periodic maintenance-charging of your battery can prevent costly failures.

 

[waylinsbonneville]

I've been fighting electrical problems on my 2005 Bonne too

My bike quit on a ride 2 weekends ago. no spark. coil secondary is open. I replace it with a Nology coil. Still doesn't run. I charge the battery the next day after checking the sensor out (.6 mm clearance + 600 ohms) and it starts! I ride it to work the next day and it quits after 3 miles! Tow to my shop next to my auto mechanic friends. Charge the battery (run down from trying to start it), and it would start to run, give it gas, quits. Test equipment shows no spark but we have pulse from sensor. I spring for a Procom hi-rev ignition box on ebay ($115). I install it and it won't even give the quick little fake start that the stock unit gives. put the stock one back on, same crap. I buy a new battery. after 15 seconds of cranking it runs! then quits in 2 minutes. Will not start back up but will fake start every few tries. We hook the spark tester up, my bike fires every time the coil manages to throw a spark we can see. Then it just started running fine! I let it run 10 minutes, started it repeatedly and we wiggled every damn wire and connector trying to make it fail again. I then put the procom ignition box back on & it works fine too.

Soooo... I think I'll end up stranded again unless Sheepdog is correct in his comment about batteries.

Any thoughts out there? Thanks!

 

[Sheepdog]

There is some kind of wire that connects on the bottom of the engine (I think it has something to do with the neutral light or some kind of interlock). Its just a small thing and when I overlooked how it was routed when switching out countershaft sprockets I pinched it between the C/S cover and the tranny case. It completely shut my bike down until I respliced it and routed it as stock. Perhaps you have some sort of bad connection with this wire.

 

[waylinsbonneville]

Update

While I was here I thought I'd give an update to my electrical problems: It quit on me again so I replaced the last piece in the chain:
The pickup coil!
All my troubles are gone. I now have a new high performance Nology coil, new battery, new Procom ignition module and a new pickup coil.

Happy trails, Waylin

 

[Sheepdog]

Happy days. Good work...

 

[timpee77]

I realise this is an old thread but for what it's worth i have recently had a very similar experience with a troublesome 2005 T100. I now also have a new Nology ignition coil and Hotwires, new Procom CDI and a new Pick-up (Pulse) coil. It took me some time to figure it out why i had absolutely no spark because even though i was getting a measurable pulse (as measured with an oscilloscope) from the pick-up coil, it was not sending a signal to the liking of the CDI. The bike runs really nicely with the new CDI and Ignition coil but of course knowing what i know now i'd simply replace the pick-up coil from the get go.

Apparently (according to the guys at TeamMoto Triumph, (Brisbane, Australia) the '05's are notorious for this problem. the common story is usually like this:- Your bike may have initially begun misfiring only when hot but then ran well once it cooled down. The problem usually gets worse, albeit intermittently, eventually resulting in no spark altogether.

If you're anything like me...

You probably presume its the ignition coil because that component still has a good voltage to it and there's no spark

Then you go back a link further in the chain and spring for a new CDI because you like to fiddle and always wanted an excuse to get a user-modifiable one.

Then after tearing your hair out and testing connectivity between all points in just about the whole damn wiring loom, you buy a new pick-up coil even though the one you've got still appears to give a fair pulse when the engine is cranked.

Then after some reading and talking to people... set the new pick-up coil at 0.6mm clearance, not 0.8 or more as recommended by the manual and the problem is immediately solved.

The riddle in a nutshell; The working pick-up coil wasn't working.

 

[Welchcg]

I had similar issues on my 2002 Bonnie, died on me suddenly after a touble-free 40 mile trip, like somebody had hit the kill switch. I went through the Ignition Coil and Igniter change with no improvement, engine would start up fine from cold then after about 15 minutes die, on attempting to restart no spark. Changing the pickup coil resolved it and I've had no further issues since.

One thing I did notice however and not sure if its significant, after cutting out, if I left the ignition switched on with the engine off, the engine wouldn't fire up even when cooled down. If I turned off the ignition however and removed the key it would start up again after about 20 minutes. I figured therefore that with the ignition system on and energised, the coil was hitting a critical resistance level and then cutting out. Leaving the ignition switched on left the ignition system energised and probably out-of-limits. Don't know if my assumption is correct but may be worth trying out if other people suffer the same symptons and hopefully might be a good way to differentiate between a pickup coil and an igniter failure. One other point of note, my pickup coil resistance at ambient temperature was within the limits quoted on here (I believe this is around 580 ohms but can't remember the exact figure now) so this reading I don't think is a reliable indicator of whether the pick up coil is faulty or not.

Good luck

 

[scwaterguy]

Inconsistent Electrical Problem

Since this seems to be a common problem I’ll add my two cents. My 2007 Bonneville T100 just died while on the road – as if I’d hit the kill switch. I trailered it back home and saw it had no spark. I changed the plugs and the battery (since it was old anyway) and it started right up. Great! Problem solved. At least until I went for my next ride. It died again. Pulled it over to the side of the road and it started right up. Got it home and in the following days it would start sometimes. I could tell it wasn’t heat related – had to be something electrical. Nothing worse than a bike you can’t trust to stay running!!!

Then I found this forum. I proceeded changing out the electrical components one at a time from the cheapest to the most expensive. First the pickup coil - $75 from the Triumph dealer. I couldn’t find one online. Next, I put in the Nology ignition coil – $80 but still no luck. Finally, I replaced the CDI (also called the igniter) with one from Procom. It cost $270 compared to the OEM, which sells for $624 on Bike Bandit and at the dealer. That fixed it. My bike’s been running great for over a week now with no problems. I can’t tell if the Nology coil makes it run smother or not like some claim. Seems to, but I may have been influenced by this thread. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum and my handy Haynes manual, I did it all myself. Saved a lot there too.

 

[Velocette]

I had similar issues on my 2002 Bonnie, died on me suddenly after a touble-free 40 mile trip, like somebody had hit the kill switch. I went through the Ignition Coil and Igniter change with no improvement, engine would start up fine from cold then after about 15 minutes die, on attempting to restart no spark. Changing the pickup coil resolved it and I've had no further issues since.

One thing I did notice however and not sure if its significant, after cutting out, if I left the ignition switched on with the engine off, the engine wouldn't fire up even when cooled down. If I turned off the ignition however and removed the key it would start up again after about 20 minutes. I figured therefore that with the ignition system on and energised, the coil was hitting a critical resistance level and then cutting out. Leaving the ignition switched on left the ignition system energised and probably out-of-limits. Don't know if my assumption is correct but may be worth trying out if other people suffer the same symptons and hopefully might be a good way to differentiate between a pickup coil and an igniter failure. One other point of note, my pickup coil resistance at ambient temperature was within the limits quoted on here (I believe this is around 580 ohms but can't remember the exact figure now) so this reading I don't think is a reliable indicator of whether the pick up coil is faulty or not.

Good luck

Sorry to revive an old thread but I have been suffering loss of spark now and again but only from starting, not on the road. I like your theory, and I have another similar one. If a something latches in the chip that handles the input from the safety switches, leaving the ignition off for a period might reset it. The last time mine wouldn''t start I had the starter turning over as I wiggled things, as soon as I pulled the clutch in it fired immediately. Now for the clutch to be involeved in the ignition lock out with the bike in neutral and the stand folded would require two switch faults. (unlikely INO) Also when I let the clutch back out the bike kept running. IMO). This led me to look at the ignition control module and might tie in with the logic resetting hypothesis (from a clleague who is a highly qualified and experienced electrician and a biker) as the clutch switch might provide an alternative earth path or something.

What I am currently trying to figure out is if the bare metal around the mounting stud (of the ICU) is an earth path as the nut on mine was black and wouldn't have been making good contact until I cleaned it up?
This weekend I intend to unbolt it and insulate it and see if it will run or if it reproduces the fault.
I replaced my reluctor coil and ignition coil a year or two ago and it has been fine up to a couple of weeks ago so I hope they are not at fault. Bike is behaving itself for the moment. Sorry if this is rambling a bit.

 

[Velocette]

Well that's one theory I can discount. She refused again tonight, leaving work, starter wizzing round and no firing. Tried switching off for two minutes then unplugging the ICU for two minutes and finally disconnecting the battery for two minutes. I think I can safely say it is not a microprocessor hanging up. So I went over all the connections I could reach including the ones in the headlight and operated all the safety switches over and over, trying the starter for short bursts after each check. Nothing.

I was thinking about taking the battery home to charge it and coming back tomorrow with a tester and more tools but I gave it one more spin. Nothing until out of exasperation more than anything I gave the fat part of the ICU a sharp tap with a screwdriver handle - backfire another tap - Bingo she's running! Now I've had false dawns before but it is surely looking like the ICU now.

Do I get an OEM or a Pro Com?
Have Pro Com had their teething troubles ironed out?

What causes the Gill unit to fail so often? IMO the most likely culprit is the crap mounting, it must slap against the mudguard whenever you go over a bump if mine is typical. The crappy plastic rivet or Whatever it is on one end only holds it about a beeswing above the mudguard.

 

[steventhechef]

My wife and I both have 2005 Thruxtons

Her's ran fine but the tacho didn't work. Mine hard intermittent start issues and then died a couple of times and dumped me on the side of the road.

I fitted Procom ingniters and have had 40,000 km of happy motoring. No problems on this end.

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-technical-talk/208243-yet-another-procom-igniter-question.html

 

[Velocette]

My wife and I both have 2005 Thruxtons

Her's ran fine but the tacho didn't work. Mine hard intermittent start issues and then died a couple of times and dumped me on the side of the road.

I fitted Procom ingniters and have had 40,000 km of happy motoring. No problems on this end.

http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-technical-talk/208243-yet-another-procom-igniter-question.html

Thanks Steven, that sounds very like my problem except mine started up when I hit the thing! Your linked thread has just about convinced me, just a bit afraid to order one in the UK as the site I found gives very few details and I want to be sure I am getting the right model with all the features. Has anyone in the UK bought one fron Square Deals or elsewhere they can recommend?

 

[Forchetto]

just a bit afraid to order one in the UK as the site I found gives very few details and I want to be sure I am getting the right model with all the features. Has anyone in the UK bought one fron Square Deals or elsewhere they can recommend?

The squaredeals unit, part number PE-C-MTBS-A, seems to be the same unit as the makers site recommends for a 2005 Bonnie.

Squaredeals unit:

http://www.squaredeals-ltd.co.uk/pr...-programmable-ignition-for-triumph-6632-p.asp

Makers site unit:

http://www.procomeng.com/estore/cdi-unit/pe-c-mtbs-a.html

Find out your standard unit's part number though, as they quote that on both sites. I can't help as you don't include details of your model/year/location on your profile.

Find out here, it's item(s) 7. Note they have different part numbers according to your VIN number:

http://www.worldoftriumph.com/trium...r.php?block_01=&block_02=300967&block_03=3130

 

[Velocette]

The squaredeals unit, part number PE-C-MTBS-A, seems to be the same unit as the makers site recommends for a 2005 Bonnie.

Squaredeals unit:

http://www.squaredeals-ltd.co.uk/pr...-programmable-ignition-for-triumph-6632-p.asp

Makers site unit:

http://www.procomeng.com/estore/cdi-unit/pe-c-mtbs-a.html

Find out your standard unit's part number though, as they quote that on both sites. I can't help as you don't include details of your model/year/location on your profile.

Find out here, it's item(s) 7. Note they have different part numbers according to your VIN number:

http://www.worldoftriumph.com/trium...r.php?block_01=&block_02=300967&block_03=3130

Thanks Forchetto, great info. I will sort out the profile